The death of a Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) student from meningitis has not been confirmed contrary to reports in two national dailies, said a spokesperson from the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah hospital in Klang, Selangor, today.

"I don't know where they (the dailies) got the information from but Kasnita Mohd Kassim (the student) has not been confirmed as having died from meningitis," said the spokesperson who declined to be named.

The spokesperson told malaysiakini that the hospital is still investigating the cause of death and will issue a report once it has been determined..

"All I can say is that she was admitted to the hospital yesterday and she died the same day," she added.

Kasnita, who hails from Ipoh, Perak, was a 29-year-old mass communications student at the university in Shah Alam which she joined about a month ago.

The victim, a former TV3 staff, leaves behind two children, aged two and three.

According to the New Straits Times today, Kasnita's death was the second confirmed fatal case from meningitis after 23-year-old D Thiyagarajan from Universiti Putra Malaysia succumbed to the disease in late June.

The meningitis scare began when two third-year students, Thiyagarajan and Loy Cheah Kee, died within two days of each other, after exhibiting symptoms of meningitis also known as meningococcal meningitis.

However, only Thiyagarajan was found to have died of the airborne disease.

Loy's body was released for burial before an autopsy could be conducted but the official cause of death was acute pulmonary oedema.

Investigation underway

Meanwhile, Utusan Malaysia reproted that Kasnita was suspected to have died from meningitis but added that the hospital was still conducting in-depth investigation to ascertain the cause of death.

UiTM officials could not be reached for comment.

Meningitis is an infectious disease that affects the fluids surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Immediate medical treatment is the most important measure to take if symptoms of meningitis such as headache, fever or a stiff neck are experienced after coming in contact with a patient.

However, meningitis is not as contagious as other airborne diseases like the flu, because the bacteria responsible for the infection dies within minutes of leaving the human body.

In a related development, Bernama reported that the Selangor Health Department said that Kasnita's death is suspected to be caused by "meningoencephalitis" and not due to "meningoccocal meningitis".

The report added that laboratory tests were being carried out to establish the source of the infection.